This year, GK launches Barangay Walang Iwanan – an effort to inspire our barangays to care and share for their own communities and end poverty in their area. The Bayani Challenge 2015 serves as a starting point for Naga City and the Third District of Camarines Sur to join the movement. As a bystander to […]
Naga City: Home of Heroes
More than ten years ago, the very first GK community in Bicol was built in Naga City. The first homes were built in Barangay Triangulo, in an area along the rail road tracks. Like most on-site builds, the homes were scattered in the PNR property, but at least, for the first time in their lives, […]
GK Growth Map, Rolling Out and Staying Put
In 2008, I decided it was time to go back to school. I was determined to pursue my degree in sociology, hone my skills in statistics and prove to myself that GK is sustainable, based on empirical data (and not just feel-good anecdotes that we all know are true also). I got sidetracked (or perhaps […]
Back to the Ground (Literally) for Gawad Kalinga
For the third time this year, volunteers coming from the kapitbahayan (the residents of the Gawad Kalinga villages) will be coming together to help in rebuilding, repairing and starting the ground work of the farm lots of families from a specific Gawad Kalinga community here in Camarines Sur. This October 4-6, the volunteers will head over […]
Farm Builds with Gawad Kalinga – Perspective of our French Volunteers
For more than a month, a group of young French students spent their time with Gawad Kalinga and the Spiral Sun team discovering parts of Bicol and the communities as well. Read about the adventures of Selma, Loure, Nicky, Baptiste and Simon as they joined farm builds, rode ATVs and ate their way around Naga and the […]
Bayani Beads – Handmade Bracelets from Naga
Livelihood and sustainability is always the biggest challenge, not just with communities in GK, but just about everywhere. For almost five years, Tita Cora Ragas has been working hand-in-hand with GK Del Rosario (Naga City, Camarines Sur), encouraging the ladies to be productive. Some have enrolled in cooking classes (and we have one resident who is […]
The BOB Talks – Best of Bicol
The BoB Talks are a series of talks on the Best of Bicol – a movement encouraging entrepreneurship and bringing out the best that the region has to offer. Last week, we were asked if we could be part of the panel for the BoB Talks for their second run. The talks, a brainchild of […]
A is for Avenue Plaza Hotel
If there is a place other than our home where J is comfortable rolling around the bed and hiding under the covers, it is the Avenue Plaza Hotel. This four-star hotel sits in the heart of the lifestyle hub of Naga City. Being one of the classiest hotels in the metro, you can expect excellent […]
Take a Trip to Gawad Kalinga’s Enchanted Farm
During J’s first few months, he was able to have his first McDonald’s visit, his first Bonchon trip, his first visit to SM Megamall and Trinoma. The rest of the time, we stayed at home – trying to learn the ropes of parenthood and multitasking. After taking him to nearby areas in the metropolis, we decided […]
Enchanted Farm Cafe: Brewing Innovation, Good Coffee and Tea
Looking for a new place to eat? Have coffee? And chat with friends? Here are our favourite finds in Quezon City. Although I haven’t had the chance to travel with Tom as much as I wanted to since Spiral Sun started, I did have to leave Naga mid-June for Manila. I took an AirPhilExpress flight on […]